National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget. It contains exhibits from around the world, from Greenland to South America.

The museum has a number of national commitments, particularly within the following key areas: archaeology, ethnology,numismatics, ethnography, natural science, conservation, communication, building antiquarian activities in connection with the churches of Denmark as well as the handling of the Danefæ (the National Treasures).

The museum covers 14,000 years of Danish history, from the reindeer-hunters of the Ice Age, Vikings and works of art created in praise of God in the Middle Ages, when the church played a huge role in Danish life. Danish coins from Viking times to the present and coins from ancientRome and Greece, as well as examples of the coinage and currencies of other cultures are exhibited also. Furthermore the National Museum keeps Denmark’s largest and most varied collection of objects from the ancient cultures of Greece and Italy, the Near East and Egypt. For example, it holds a collection of objects that were retrieved during the Danish excavation of Tell Shemshara in Iraq in 1957. In addition to this, there are exhibits about who the Danish people are and were, stories of everyday life and special occasions, stories of the Danish state and nation, but most of all stories of different people’s lives in Denmark from 1560 to 2000.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Robert Prol (2 years ago)
Wonderful museum with lots of ideas for us Danish Modern lovers. We really enjoyed our time in this museum. It's well laid out, and the exhibits are nicely organized. The food was good in the cafeteria.

Thomas Just Sørensen (3 years ago)
Wonderful museum, in particular worth a visit if you have kids. The children's museum is one of a kind. Be prepared to stay for hours, bring plenty of water, and dress the small ones in layers. They will exhaust themselves if you let them. The rest of the museum is worth a visit. In particular the areas on Denmark.

Johan Møller (3 years ago)
Amazing exhibition. The best I have seen from the national museum. Engaging, interesting and beautifully executed. Thanks to the danish designer Jim Lyngvild and the new management of the museum. There are tons of people here and everyone seems excited and blown away. I hope the rest of the danish museums will be inspired from this. This is the way you get more people into the museums. Educate, Excite and Engage ...

Socratis S. (3 years ago)
Its one of the most detailed Museum I've ever been. You get a well rounded idea of life from even before bronze age till now . Of course priorities Danish history as a whole but you can also find artifacts from other places of the world such as the Mediterranean .A must if you travel for knowledge of history

Andreas Offenhäuser (3 years ago)
Great place to get a very wide range of Denmark's history. From stone age to latest pop culture. Exhibitions are explained in Danish and English. Especially the 'secret' interactive events placed throughout the museum make it a special experience. 2-3 hours of you stroll through the entire place.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Historic Site of the week

Cesis Castle

German crusaders known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword began construction of the Cēsis castle (Wenden) near the hill fort in 1209. When the castle was enlarged and fortified, it served as the residence for the Order's Master from 1237 till 1561, with periodic interruptions. Its ruins are some of the most majestic castle ruins in the Baltic states. Once the most important castle of the Livonian Order, it was the official residence for the masters of the order.

In 1577, during the Livonian War, the garrison destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling into the control of Ivan the Terrible, who was decisively defeated in the Battle of Wenden (1578).

In 1598 it was incorporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Wenden Voivodship was created here. In 1620 Wenden was conquered by Sweden. It was rebuilt afterwards, but was destroyed again in 1703 during the Great Northern War by the Russian army and left in a ruined state. Already from the end of the 16th century, the premises of the Order's castle were adjusted to the requirements of the Cēsis Castle estate. When in 1777 the Cēsis Castle estate was obtained by Count Carl Sievers, he had his new residence house built on the site of the eastern block of the castle, joining its end wall with the fortification tower.

Since 1949, the Cēsis History Museum has been located in this New Castle of the Cēsis Castle estate. The front yard of the New Castle is enclosed by a granary and a stable-coach house, which now houses the Exhibition Hall of the Museum. Beside the granary there is the oldest brewery in Latvia, Cēsu alus darītava, which was built in 1878 during the later Count Sievers' time, but its origins date back to the period of the Livonian Order. Further on, the Cēsis Castle park is situated, which was laid out in 1812. The park has the romantic characteristic of that time, with its winding footpaths, exotic plants, and the waters of the pond reflecting the castle's ruins. Nowadays also one of the towers is open for tourists.

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Historic Site of the week

Cesis Castle

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